The wonders of dashi and mirin

My apologies for the slightly blur photo, for this Oyakodon (chicken and onions with egg on rice) was calling out to me to savour it quick, and for its lack of colour, as I did not want to buy spring onions just for garnish (!).

Ah, the wonders of dashi and mirin. Dashi is a soup stock made from kelp and bonito, and it forms the base of many soups like miso soup. Mirin is a sweet rice wine. I used to lament that it was difficult to obtain these two ingredients, unless I went to a Japanese supermarket. And in most Japanese food, dashi and mirin feature strongly on the recipe list. A quote I found on Wikipedia, by Shizuo Tsuji in 1980 said, "Many substitutes for dashi are possible, but without dashi, dishes are merely a la japonaise and lack the authentic flavor."

Thank goodness NTUC actually sells these two ingredients. They were under my nose all this time! And, they weren't very expensive. I was so pleased that with just these two items, my rice bowl transformed from a Chinese one to a Japanese one.

Here's my adapted recipe should you wish to try this out.

Oyakodon
Serves 2.

Ingredients:
Japanese rice (however much you like to eat)
2 chicken thighs
Half an onion
2 eggs
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
3/4 cup dashi stock
1 tablespoon sugar

Let's cook:
1. Steam the rice until it's nice and fluffy.
2. In the meantime, debone the chicken thighs and slice them into bite sized pieces.
3. Thinly slice the onions.
4. In a saucepan, add a little oil and fry the onions until they are slightly translucent.
5. Add the chicken pieces and fry them around a bit.
6. Using 3/4 cup hot water, dissolve half a packet of dashi powder and then add it to the saucepan.
7. Add the mirin, sugar and soy sauce.
8. Let everything simmer until the chicken is cooked and the onions are soft and translucent.
9. Beat the 2 eggs in a bowl and pour them into the saucepan.
10. When the eggs start to curdle and get cooked, turn off the heat.
11. Place the rice into two bowls, and pour the chicken egg mixture equally over both bowls of rice.
12. Add chilli flakes and sliced spring onions. (optional)